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Technology Stocks : 3Com Corporation (COMS) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: blankmind who wrote (13866)	2/10/1998 3:11:00 PM
From: Christopher White	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 45548

blankmind, IMO, USRX with its aggressive accounting procedures is a convenient scapegoat for 3Com's management's delay in dealing with existing inventory problems resulting from acquisitions. In the last 3 1/2 years COMS has tripled its sales by acquiring 6 companies and merging with one. Though USRX did stuff the channel with x2 modems, I suspect some of that obsolete inventory could be left over from prior acquisitions and senior management had up until now, when the problem was no longer possible to ignore, hoped that through growth, this excess inventory would disappear. I agree with your views on the negative short term effect a COMS/NN merger would have on the companies stock prices - history does repeat itself IMO. However, I see this merger as inevitable for the longer term viability of both companies in this competitive marketplace. Looking further out, I think the next step would be an even closer cooperation, maybe even acquisition by Siemens of both COMS and NN. Siemens needs the the technology that COMS and NN have to compete for the business of the telecoms. Christopher

To: blankmind who wrote (13866)	2/10/1998 9:51:00 PM
From: Crzy Joe	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 45548

<<< coms continues to be mired in the muck of usrx and i would hope they learn a lesson about acquiring a company so large and the problems of integrating such a purchase. >>> blankmind, uhhh...forgive me for stating the obvious, but a 12 billion dollar merger does not exactly happen overnight. I would say the integration of the 2 companies is fairing quite well, compared the the Bay merger. Aside from the inventory discrepancy, I don't think the merger poses that big a threat, both companies, have very little product overlap. <<< your comments about competing with csco is very perceptive, but two weak companies combining, i do not believe would allow for them to effectively compete. instead the merger would hurt development as the companies merged cultures and products and may actually have the combined company lose market share to csco. >>> Two weak companies? USRobotics 3Com... they are both market leaders, at the time when they were individual companies. I would state that they are still market leaders in their own perspective sectors. As with any form of large mergers, market share will be lost in the short term. As competitors, go on the offensive while the two companies remain stagnant. But in the long term, the merger will prove fruitful.